" Cliffs Natural Resources will announce a site as early as September"

"Mayor Tom Laughren said this is the second visit the company has made to Timmins "

" the city and TEDC have been working aggressively behind the scenes since December 2009 to highlight what Timmins can offer Cliffs."

Timmins still in the race for Ring of Fire facility

By The Daily Press

Posted 7 hours ago

Timmins is still in the running to be the homebase for processing ore from Ontario's biggest mineral discovery in the past century.

Representatives of Cliffs Natural Resources recently visited the city. Cliffs is looking for a community to host its ferrochrome production facility — a key component in developing the Ring of Fire.

Massive deposits of chromite, copper, nickel, platinum, diamonds, palladium, gold and silver have been discovered in the Ring of Fire, west of James Bay.

Officials with the Timmins Economic Development Corporation and the city recently met with representatives from Cliffs.

"We have been working with Cliffs Natural Resources for quite some time now," said Dave McGirr, chairman of the TEDC. "We prepared a detailed background document describing why Timmins would be the logical choice for Cliffs' ferrochrome facility.

"We described our local labour force skills set in great detail and we also showcased a variety of local sites that meet their baseline requirements."

Mayor Tom Laughren said this is the second visit the company has made to Timmins .

"We appreciate that Cliff's is engaged in a detailed due diligence process to find the perfect site," Laughren said. "The fact that Cliffs have been working with Team Timmins to investigate our options and what the City of Timmins has to offer the mining firm says a lot about our community.

"Timmins is a municipality that was built to service the natural resources sector. We can be proud that we have the local talent and skill sets to operate a world-class business operation from our home."

He also noted that the city and TEDC have been working aggressively behind the scenes since December 2009 to highlight what Timmins can offer Cliffs.

During this most recent visit, the Cliffs representative met with local mining and community leaders.

"The local experience of working in and operating a large global business from Timmins was a focal point of the conversation," said Christy Marinig, CEO of the TEDC. "These leaders were able to elaborate that we are a community that knows how to deliver shareholder value while being safe, productive and profitable."

Cleveland-based Cliffs Natural Resources will announce a site as early as September. Cliffs estimates 500 people will work on the smelter during construction and up to 500 when it's operating.